Teleios: April 2021

Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Living the Christian Life: God’s Commands & Results

Living the Christian Life: God’s Commands & Results

Welcome back to my blog. I am so happy you are visiting. Today we continue a fascinating discussion on the Christian life. We have discussed in the past several blogs its foundation, the goals, and the tools of the Christian walk. Today we explore the Christian life and its fruitful results.

God’s Commands - Borders for the Christian Life

God’s admonishments for the Christian life exist to fulfill two general purposes from our holy Father:

· Maintain an orderly society and individual life – These are reflected in commands such as “do not murder” or “do not steal” and are often repeated from the Old to the New Testament. God’s commands about order are interspersed throughout the epistles. In general, His commands are few and protective to us and society, leaving us a broad path in life in which He wants us to live by faith to serve Him.

Note: Old Testament and gospel commands – These commands reflect God’s holiness. Nonetheless, they are dictates for another time when God administered His people differently. We obey commands within the epistles because these are for the church.

o For example, God’s command to sacrifice animals in the Old Testament law (Exodus 21:28) reflected His righteous character and teaches about His bringing in the future Messiah to forgive man’s sin. However, Christians are not commanded to sacrifice animals!

o The Old Testament Law was to teach Israel not only about God and Messiah, but also to keep order in their society. In the church times we are administrated through the epistles and the church as well as we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

· To live a wise and godly life – Like the order commands, these also are interspersed throughout the epistles and provide wisdom about how to lead our Christian lives. Interestingly, much research published in the medical literature has shown that when specific biblical dictates are followed, they may increase wellbeing, such as hope, forgiveness, thankfulness, and joy.

o God made us and He knows our psychological profile and what is healthy for us. Further, Teleios research has shown that Christians who study the Bible and practice what it says on average have better wellbeing.

· God’s commands are not burdensome – in contrast, in the letters from the apostles meant for the church there are relatively few commands regarding our lives that outline a broad playing field on which we live a life of faith. We can live a life of freedom in how we serve God and use things on the earth according to a prayer and the Bible.

Results of God’s Word in our Lives

What are the results in the Christian’s life of practicing the 5 tools maturity using the precepts above? These results are discussed in the Bible and are profound. Although mentioned throughout the New Testament epistles, below are some key passages which discuss the results of the Christian life in a mature believer.

Fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23; Ephesians 5:9)

Evidence of a mature believer (Hebrews 5:11-14)

Qualities of an elder and deacon (1 Timothy 3:1-15)

Evidence of our fellowship with God - This chapter provides general evidences of a person's belief including proper doctrine of Christ, obedience and love (1 John 2-4)

Characteristics of a useful believer to God (2 Peter 1:3-8)

Paul's prayers for godly characteristics (Ephesians 1:15ff; 3:14ff; Colossians 1:9-15)

God is so wise in the way He causes us to grow, securing our salvation, and giving us tools by which to grow, based in the power of the Holy Spirit. We are tremendously blessed to have such a loving and devoted God.

Thank you for joining me today. You can read more on this topic at https://teleiosresearch.com/living-the-christian-life/.

Please come again next time as we continue our discussion on living a fruitful Christian life, specifically on tithing!

William C. Stewart, MD

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Disclaimer - This blog and its content are provided only as information. No content on the website should be taken as advice or recommendation to any personal or institutional situation. The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily either shared or endorsed by Teleios. Both the blog and the contents are subject to change at any time without notice. Although I endeavor to ensure that the blog and the content are current and accurate, it may contain errors. I do not represent that the blog or the content is current, accurate or complete, or appropriate for your specific requirements. I do not accept any liability from any person for the blog, the content or any other information (or the use of such information) I provide. I do not have a seminary degree, but I have trained myself in the scriptures to teach and provide this information. For any specific question, I suggest you contact experts in that field and or do your own research into the scriptures.

Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Living the Christian life: Goals & Tools

Welcome back to my blog. I am so happy you visited. Today we continue a fascinating discussion on the Christian life. Last week we discussed its foundation. Today let us consider the goals and tools needed for leading a successful Christian life.

Goals for the Christian life

Be holy as God is holy (1 Peter 1:16) – We are to strive to develop godly characteristics in our life.
Serve God with your entire life (Romans 12:1-2) – In accomplishing this goal we have great freedom.
Live a life of faith (Romans 14:23, Colossians 2:6)
Obey – We are to adhere to scripture (Romans 6:12,16; 2 Thessalonians 3:14)

Tools for leading the Christian life

The Bible - We are to accept God’s word as a true guide for our lives (1 Thessalonians 1:6). In Paul’s informative prayer in Colossians 1:9-14, he indicates the importance of approaching our Christian life in a knowledgeable way (verse 9). Accordingly, to act correctly (verse 10) we first must know how to think. We do this first by knowing God’s Word, especially the epistles in the New Testament (Romans to Revelation 3). This is the section meant specifically to provide directions for the church age.

· Biblical authority for the Christian life – The Bible speaks of accepting God’s word and using it as a basis for how we live our lives (2 Timothy 3:16; Ephesians 6:17; 2 Peter 3:16; 1 Timothy 6:14; Titus 1:3). Consequently, we receive not only the will of God and the benefits of the Spirit but also a healthy mind and good wellbeing through the Christian life as outlined in the Bible (1 Timothy 1:5; 2 Timothy 1:7).

· Freedom- Far from being restrictive, the Epistles (the section meant for the church-time believers) liberate us by teaching us wisdom and truth … with very few commands! It allows us to live a life of faith without being deceived by damaging practices in the world (1 Timothy 4:4-5). The Bible is our guidebook for life. As we live in faith we prove God is working within us with the accompanying joy of seeing Him bring fruit into our lives (Galatians 5:22; Ephesians 5:9).

God’s Power – God’s power in the New Testament for believers is manifested generally in two ways:

· Through the gospel (Romans 1:16-17) – This is the power of God to salvation! The Spirit is active in the salvation process by convicting unbelievers of their sin (John 16:10).

· In the Christian life (Ephesians 6:10-17) – The magnificent armor of God passage is critical to understanding our Christian life because it instructs us how to access God’s power by describing a Greek hoplite soldier and his armament. Often Christians wonder how they can know the power of God. These great verses describe it! However, it is also important in showing the role of the Spirit because His mighty actions are linked to each of the pieces of armor in other scripture.

Truth (our belt to prepare us V.14) – Living in truth is a fruit of the Spirit (Ephesians 5:9) and prepares our mind to make proper decisions and actions.
Righteousness (our breastplate V.14) – A fruit of the Spirit is a holy heart that is set apart to serve God and perceives and rejects sin (Ephesians 5:9).
Share the gospel (the shoes to carry us to battle V.15) – By telling others the message of salvation we see the power of God to change others and positively affect our society, which is assisted by the Spirit (Romans 1:16-17; 2 Timothy 1:7; John 16:8-11).
Faith (our shield V.16) – A fruit of the Spirit also is faith in which we make our decisions and what God desires from us (Galatians 5:22-23; Romans 14:23).
Eternal security (our helmet V.17) – The sound knowledge of our security of salvation protects our heads as we face troubles in this world and its function is from the Spirit (Romans 15:13, Romans 8:16).
The Bible (our sword V.17) – The power of God we experience in our Christian life is through the action of the Spirit in accordance to the Bible (Hebrews 4:12).

What great truths! These passages tell us how the Spirit acts in our lives to cause us to please God and to experience His power.

The Holy Spirit

· Many scriptures detail helpful attributes God desires us to have. One of the most important is stated in Galatians 5:22-23 which discusses the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, humility and self-control.

· As they are a fruit of the Spirit, how can they be gained?

· In general, there are three roles in the Christian’s relationship with the Spirit. These roles can be used to gain the 9 attributes of the fruit of the Spirit as well as other godly characteristics that can improve our lives.

o Non-variable actions of the Spirit: A Christian should first realize they possess the Holy Spirit permanently: He dwells inside us with all of His available power (Ephesians 1:13-14; 2 Corinthians 1:22; 5:5); Further the Spirit placed us in the church and He is our seal (guarantee) of salvation and cannot be removed (Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30).

o Variable actions of Christians: It is only believers themselves who can limit the action of the Spirit in their lives. Therefore, we are told to “walk” (i.e., conduct our lifestyle) in the Spirit and become mature in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16; Ephesians 5:18). We do this by being obedient and seeking the attributes of God through scripture. In contrast, we are told not to quench or grieve the Spirit (Ephesians 4:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:19)

o Variable actions of the Spirit: If allowed, the Spirit through the word of God can empower our lives, put to death the deeds of the flesh, and comfort us that we are God’s children (Romans 8:13-16), changes us to godliness (2 Corinthians 3:18) and help produce in us the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

o Not only may these characteristics contribute potentially to better personal wellbeing, but their presence is a measure of our maturity as a believer and a marker that we are led by the Spirit (Galatians 5:18; Romans 8:14).

o Other verses also speak about wonderful attributes the Christian may acquire from the Spirit (Romans 15:13; Romans 8:6; 2 Timothy 1:7; Romans 14:17; Ephesians 5:9).

What a privilege to be able to serve God through our lives. Glory to God for the tools he gives us to allow us to live in a righteous way before him.

Thank you for joining me today. Please come again next time as we continue our discussion on living a fruitful Christian life, specifically the goals and the tools for the Christian life.

Wednesday, April 7, 2021

Living the Christian Life: The basis of walking with God

Living the Christian life: The basis of walking with God

Welcome back to my blog. I am so happy you are visiting! Today we start a fascinating discussion, over the next several blogs, on the Christian life. It will discuss its foundation, the goals, tools, borders as well as research that supports how it helps our own wellbeing. Today let's begin with the important aspects of the foundation of the Christian life that allows us to serve God.

The foundation for a Christian life

The term Christian life refers to our how we live as a believer. The two preconditions below are the basis of a healthy Christian life.

Salvation

Being saved by grace, having received the forgiveness of sins through Christ’s death on the cross and resurrection to new life.

Salvation by faith in Christ is the needed door that allows entry into all of God’s blessings on this earth and eternal life.

Security of salvation – We can only adequately live a fruitful Christian life when we are confident of our salvation.

If a person does not believe in Christ for salvation, they do not have the understanding or capacity to live the Christian life (Romans 3:10-18). Further, if we are not convinced that God keeps us to salvation then we will have only limited confidence to live as a Christian and serve God.

Progressing from Salvation (Hebrew 6:1-2)

Once saved and knowing we are secure, how do we mature in our faith?

Three sanctifications – Critical to understanding the Christian life are the three different sanctifications. These are defined in the Dallas Theological Seminary doctrinal statement and are very useful. Sanctification as a term is defined by believers being setting apart as holy to God Please see Figure 1.

Figure 1: Three types of sanctification

First or past sanctification

Second or present sanctification

Third or future sanctification

Forgiveness of sins for all time

Our Christian life

Perfect body at Rapture

The three sanctifications defined:

First or past sanctification – This is legal holiness based on forgiveness of our sins by Christ’s death in the cross through faith. We are created new beings in Christ who can serve him.

Second or present sanctification – This refers to our actions by which grow in holiness as we live a life of faith, obedient in our service to God throughout our lifetime.

Third or future sanctification – This is the change in our bodies at the rapture that makes us become completely holy, completing the sanctification process.

The sanctifications do not mix – Importantly, the three sanctifications are separate in implementation and do not mingle with each other. Further, we progress through them one at a time and we cannot return to the prior sanctification! Please see Figure 2.

Transition from first to second sanctification – When Christ was resurrected to new life He then ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God the Father (Hebrews 8:1). This action signified that His glorious work in bringing salvation to man was finished! His sacrifice was sufficient for all sins for all time and did not need to be repeated (Hebrews 10:10-19). His sacrificial work being complete, Christ now heads continuously the church and helps believers in their Christian life.

Likewise, as Christians when we believed at salvation and received forgiveness (Romans 3:23-26) it was once for all time. We also were resurrected to new life and sit at the right hand of God the Father with Christ (Ephesians 2:4-9).

Consequently, our work of being saved is finished. We now serve Christ continuously through the church (second sanctification). We do not need to revisit our first sanctification.

So as Christ was resurrected to new life, we also are resurrected to new life through Him (Romans 6:2-9). As Christ’s saving work was finished on the cross, so our process to salvation was finished at our conversion. As a new regenerated person, we are now able and free to serve Him, unburdened with insecurities over the state of our salvation or if God may not accept us for some sin.

Transition from the 2nd to the 3rd sanctification – When Christ comes again in the clouds to take his church our bodies will be changed instantaneously to a heavenly body (1 Thessalonians 4:17, 1 Corinthians 15:49-54). When this occurs, believers who are still living will be separated from their current Christian life and sanctification will be complete.

Therefore, to live the Christian life we must first have a foundation of being saved by grace through faith and created a new person through the resurrection of Christ. Such a born-again believer possesses the capacity to live a godly life and can have confidence in their relationship before God.

· If someone is not saved, they have no ability or knowledge to live the Christian life.

· If a saved person is not sure of their salvation, they do not have the confidence to live the Christian life.

Thank you for joining me today. Please come again next time as we continue our discussion on living a fruitful Christian life, specifically with the goals and tools for the Christian life.